Bioinformatic exploration of MTA1-regulated gene networks in colon cancer.

Metastasis-associated gene 1 (MTA1) controls a series of biological processes in tumor progression. Tumor progression is a complex process regulated by a gene network. The global cancer gene regulatory network must be analyzed to determine the position of MTA1 in the molecular network and its cooperative genes by further exploring the biological functions of this gene. We used TCGA data sets and GeneCards database to screen MTA1-related genes. GO and KEGG pathway analyses were conducted with DAVID and gene network analysis via STRING and Cytoscape. Results showed that in the development of colon cancer, MTA1 is linked to certain signal pathways, such as Wnt/Notch/nucleotide excision repair pathways. The findings also suggested that MTA1 demonstrates the closest relationship in a coregulation process with the key molecules AKT1, EP300, CREBBP, SMARCA4, RHOA, and CAD. These results lead MTA1 exploration to an in-depth investigation in different directions, such as Wnt, Notch, and DNA repair.